[In1unison]

Got a weird question about the Arya. I've been getting this creaking low pitched rubbing sound on my right cup. It's most apparent when I shift my head to the right or speak.

I think it's caused by the cup tilt hinge. I can tilt the cups back and forth and replicate the noise. This hinge:

My left cup is fine. I've even tried wearing the Arya backwards to see if it's an issue with my jaw. It wasn't, I could hear it with my other ear too.

My question is whether it's safe to squirt a bit of WD40 into the hinge I pointed to? I'm not familiar with the internal components so I have no idea if that'll wreck anything.

You can also consider this (safe for plastics) and you can use it for the RCA/XLR connections clean up on your gear

 

[crystal6tak]

Silicone grease would be another option. Stays on longer and less odor.

How would I apply silicone grease in this case? Is there a way to disassemble the hinge? Or do I just jam the grease in the hinge as it is.

 

[misternoe]

How would I apply silicone grease in this case? Is there a way to disassemble the hinge? Or do I just jam the grease in the hinge as it is.

I haven't had to apply this to the Aryas, but in the past I've used toothpicks and q-tips for other small things. Apply and swivel, re-apply and swivel until the noise stops.

edit: I bet some dental floss could also get in there to help spread it

 

[Sense]

Got a weird question about the Arya. I've been getting this creaking low pitched rubbing sound on my right cup. It's most apparent when I shift my head to the right or speak.

I think it's caused by the cup tilt hinge. I can tilt the cups back and forth and replicate the noise. This hinge:

My left cup is fine. I've even tried wearing the Arya backwards to see if it's an issue with my jaw. It wasn't, I could hear it with my other ear too.

My question is whether it's safe to squirt a bit of WD40 into the hinge I pointed to? I'm not familiar with the internal components so I have no idea if that'll wreck anything.

WD-40 is a degreaser. It dissolves grease and oil. It will make the problem worse.

 

[ezduzit2500]

It is probably wise to let the XMOS driver do it’s own thing, as it will automatically correct the sample rate and bitrate of the content you’re listening to with ASIO. Upscaling is already being done internally, and when you manually adjust it to a higher sample rate especially when adjusting properties as a Windows device it will let Windows do additional upscaling which is proven to be pretty abysmal compared to what the DAC itself does.

If you do load intense things on your PC it might be wise not to put the buffer size on the lowest setting, latency will be very low but it can drop-out or crackle when the CPU has too much busywork on it’s hands.

So you're saying: 1) don't adjust DAC properties to it's highest bit depth and bit rate in DAC properties? -as windows could mangle the audio in up-sampling.... 2) But where does that leave me with the DAC - with exclusive mode enabled? with the DAC bypassing windows audio. 3) Adding, my buffer settings don't yet cause dropouts - I kept my USB cable short to minimize timing/clock errors. I value your suggestions.

 

[In1unison]

WD-40 is a degreaser. It dissolves grease and oil. It will make the problem worse.

WD-40 acts as a lubricant, rust preventative, penetrant, and moisture displacer. So no, it will not make it worse but there are better products for this particular problem. Ordinary silicone grease is also problematic as it causes swelling of rubber-based products.

 

[Iggnasty]

Got a weird question about the Arya. I've been getting this creaking low pitched rubbing sound on my right cup. It's most apparent when I shift my head to the right or speak.

I think it's caused by the cup tilt hinge. I can tilt the cups back and forth and replicate the noise. This hinge:

My left cup is fine. I've even tried wearing the Arya backwards to see if it's an issue with my jaw. It wasn't, I could hear it with my other ear too.

My question is whether it's safe to squirt a bit of WD40 into the hinge I pointed to? I'm not familiar with the internal components so I have no idea if that'll wreck anything.

I will contact Hifiman Customer service before applying any lubricant that has a solvent in it. If you can’t wait, I will recommend to use a little bit if dielectric grease instead of WD 40.

 

[Iggnasty]

You can also consider this (safe for plastics) and you can use it for the RCA/XLR connections clean up on your gear

I will stay away from most lubricants that are pressurized in a can since most of them have some sort of solvent in it which is not good for plastics and conduct electricity. Electricity conductivity on most solvents are low but present

 

[In1unison]

I will stay away from most lubricants that are pressurized in a can since most of them have some sort of solvent in it which is not good for plastics and conduct electricity. Electricity conductivity on most solvents are low but present

Yes, exactly. That is why DeoxIT works on HiFi gear.

 

[iFi audio]

a little bit if dielectric grease instead of WD 40.

That's what I would use as well. WD 40 isn't ideal for lubricating.

 

[Sense]

WD-40 acts as a lubricant, rust preventative, penetrant, and moisture displacer. So no, it will not make it worse but there are better products for this particular problem. Ordinary silicone grease is also problematic as it causes swelling of rubber-based products.

I mean…it doesn’t act as a lubricant. It does contain 10-20% lubricants…but it is meant to clean and then evaporate…so as a lubricant it won’t solve the problem longterm.

since it dissolves oils and grease…it technically will not help the situation…maybe not make it worse…but it won’t fix anything.

I would use a bottle of silicone lubricant for this…I would never use WD-40 for it.

 

[X1787X]

I stand corrected. Don't use WD40. It is a rust dissolver, not a lubricant. The issue is plastic rubbing against each other, use some actual lubricant.

 

[Iggnasty]

Yes, exactly. That is why DeoxIT works on HiFi gear.

I will respectfully disagree. It seems that DeoxIT is more of a contact cleaner, at least the picture of the product you linked. Like most air compressed lubricants, they need a solvent, which in this case is Mineral Sprits (just like WD 40) which is definelty something you want to pay close attention when in contact with plastic and/or rubber. It might not cause damage right away, but if this is something you are going to be doing several times a year, I believe they are better product out there. Per the SDS sheet, the intended use for the product with P/N G5S-6 is "Conditioner, enhancer for plated and gold plated electronic contacts & connectors"

But please don't take my word, below the link to the SDS
http://store.caig.com/s.nl/sc.20/category.289/.f

I will hate to hear that crystal6tak ruined his/hers Aryas. My advise still the same, contact Hifiman customer service and see what they say. I don't really know what kind of plastic, if any, they use in that area, maybe they tell you to use WD - 40...lol. It will be great if they could fit a plastic self-lubricating bushing in there.

 

[Somatic]

Just seeing what folks are using for EQ. I have a low shelf filter starting at about 135 with +2-3db. I notice that the upper mids/treble gets muddy at higher volumes or with complex passages. Seeing if anyone has fixed this issue with EQ. I have the Aryas paired with Hugo TT2. Thanks.

 

[Somatic]

Does anyone find that the Aryas get muddy, less concise in the upper mid/lower treble range in loud or complex passages. With stock EQ it sounds pretty bad with rock music, etc. Seems like it excels in Rap/Electronic etc.